Saturday, November 16, 2013

Making a flying visit (by train) to London Jérôme Billard (Domaine de la Noblaie) came over specially to give a tasting at the RSJ Restaurant
on Monday 11th. Although the picking has now finished, the vats in the
estate's new winery are in full fermentation, so it was great that
Jérôme made it over at a very stressful time.

During an excellent tasting, Jérôme showed the following wines from the domaine:

2010 Mon Ange Touraime Mousseux Rosé

(served as the apéro)

2010 Chinon Blanc – La Part des Anges

One of the favourite wines of the evening – limited production Jérôme now moving onto 2011

2012 Chinon Blanc

Worked well with the first course:

hot smoked salmon, cucumber, Keta caviar and hollandaise

Reds:

2010 Les Chiens Chiens

From vines planted on clay

2010 Les Blancs Manteaux

From vines planted on clay/limestone.

Although
vinified and matured in the same way, these two reds are quite
different. Les Chiens Chiens is the lighter cuvée and unlikley to last
as long as Les Blancs Manteaux, which is a more structured, powerful
wine

2000 Chinon, Domaine de la Noblaie

Made by François Billard, Jérôme's father

Now retired François taught oenology at the wine school in Montreuil-Bellay and made Noblaie's wine in his spare time.Although the vintage here was less favourable than in Bordeaux, the 2000 showed well with attractive, evolved brambly fruit